Arrest Made In SF Murder Investigation

Michael Stevens

There's been an arrest in the murder of 19-year-old Michael Stevens, whose body was found just one week ago at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds.

Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead says Samuel Lint, an 18-year-old man who has been living in Sioux Falls but also has ties to Milford, Iowa, was arrested Monday morning on related drug charges and is currently being held in the Dickinson County, Iowa jail. A warrant was issued for his arrest Monday morning and Lint now faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree robbery in connection with Stevens' murder.

The investigation began January 4 at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds, and Monday, the investigation returned there. Authorities discovered new information over the weekend that the shotgun used in the crime may be buried in a huge snow bank near the Expo Building, and Monday morning, that's what they found.

“We were very fortunate that very early on that the public utilities employee with the metal detector and they went under the snow and found just what we were looking for,” Milstead said.

But now, investigators are still looking for more. Milstead says many of those they've interviewed during the investigation into the death of Stevens are heavily involved in marijuana and ecstasy use. However, he won't say if drugs are directly linked to the murder.

“But because there's such a significant prevalence of drug use and drug trafficking among many of the people we dealt with, we want to continue to work with our state's attorney and other investigators to see how this winds up,” Milstead said.

As for the suspect, 18-year-old Samuel Lint, the sheriff says Lint was the last person to report seeing Stevens alive, and a Sioux Falls police officer saw him walking away from the fairgrounds area in the early morning hours of December 30.

“We know that they knew each other and they were with each other between the evening of the 29th and the morning of the 30th,” Milstead said.

Milstead says the next step will involve extradition from Iowa, but there is no indication whether Lint will fight the transfer to Sioux Falls. It's a process Minnehaha County State's Attorney Aaron McGowan says could take days or even weeks.